Hi! I'm (currently) 39 years old, live in Northwest Indiana, am engaged and have a very active one year old daughter. I work full-time in Chicago and having a hard time finding the time and energy to get back to exercising. I was banded in Peoria, Illinois in March 2005. On the day of surgery I weighed 301 and am down to 219 - I actually was down to 195 back in October 2008 but I was breastfeeding my daughter and that helped me burn a lot of calories. I didn't start to re-gain the weight ...

Hi! I'm (currently) 39 years old, live in Northwest Indiana, am engaged and have a very active one year old daughter. I work full-time in Chicago and having a hard time finding the time and energy to get back to exercising. I was banded in Peoria, Illinois in March 2005. On the day of surgery I weighed 301 and am down to 219 - I actually was down to 195 back in October 2008 but I was breastfeeding my daughter and that helped me burn a lot of calories. I didn't start to re-gain the weight until July when the breastfeeding sessions went down to one time a day.

The pictures are me before my surgery, me in May 2009 and then from last week at my current weight of 219. I'm turning 40 next year and that just freaks me out because I want to get back down to 200 or lower because then I won't have to be on blood pressure medicine and I know I just feel so much better when I exercise.

welcome back to the lap band family................so glad you are here...... we are now a combined team so would strongly suggest you join both our teams "lap bander" and" lap band surgery"..................... introduce yourself on the lap banders team........... and feel free to join in as we offer daily challenges to help you get started on your way.............. play many games on the lap band surgery team and while there check out the library of great articles worth reading and may answer many questions you may have........... you will soon be are on your way to seeing the results you have longed for so long...... wishing you well with you lifestyle changes,as we journey together............. we are here for you............if you need any help don't hesitate to ask.............. looking forward to getting to know you better............... blessings and hugs..................lita

Maybe a little further then 30 min but not much. My son lives in Hobart and I take my animals to Hobart Animal clinic when its something my farm vet cant handle. Anyway the reason I asked is I would love to find someone to exercise with. I LOVE to hike and ride my bike. It seems though you are very busy. Especally working in Chicago. I bet that eats a lot of your day up. PLUS a toddler! Well should you ever want to take a trip to the dunes or anywhere else for that matter I would so be up for it. Good luck on your journey!